Huddersfield is where Arsenal began

As part of our general articles on Huddersfield past and present, we today take a look at what many people regard as the first truly great football manager, and founding father of the modern game, Huddersfield's Herbert Chapman.

Herbert Chapman
Regarded by many as the first 'modern' manager in English football, Herbert Chapman lifted The Arsenal to previously unimaginable greatness in the 1930s, having led Huddersfield Town to glory the previous decade. If one man was responsible for making Arsenal a major force in English football it was Huddersfield's Herbert Chapman.

It was in the 1930s that Chapman's ideas really came to fruition in North London . He had a new stadium built and installed under-soil heating. He set up the best medial facilities for the treatment of his players and established youth schemes to train and develop young talent. He was also responsible for the introduction of the white football but the football authorities rejected some of Chapman's other proposals, such as numbering player`s shirts and playing matches under floodlights. It was clear that he was a man ahead of his time.

Trophies Won
League Champions 1924, 1925 ( Huddersfield Town ), 1931, 1933 (Arsenal)
FA Cup 1922 (Huddersfield Town), 1930 (Arsenal)

Significant Firsts
Huddersfield was the first team ever to win three successive Championships (1924 - 1926).
Arsenal was the second club to win three successive Championships (1933-1935).

Quotes
'If you sat near him at a big match… you realised the intense earnestness of the man… I have never seen such concentration.' - Frank Cole, Daily Telegraph
'He [Chapman] inspired awe and respect rather than fear,' - Cliff Bastin

Vitalview, so all you terriers out their, be assured the good times will come around again and until then, we do have one of the richest and most significant histories of many a football club, and I haven't even mentioned one of our other X managers yet - Bill Shankley.


As far as we are aware no Arsenal supporters have been harmed during the writing of this article.

Could Andy Ritchie be the man to begin to restore our great club to it's rightful place ?

As ever any comments, let us have them.